Restore old shabby rattan or cane conservatory furniture to look like new

After a few years continuous use natural rattan and cane conservatory furniture can start to look a bit shabby, so you can do quite a lot to make it look closer to being new.

First of all start by cleaning the set.
Scrub in the crevices with a soft brush and vacuum with the brush attachment.
Make up a solution of washing-up liquid and tepid water.
Stir vigorously to make a lot of suds.
Dip a soft clean cloth in the suds.
Gently wipe the furniture without getting it too wet.
You may have to use a toothbrush to get in-between the weave.
Dry off with a soft cloth.

Allow the furniture to dry thoroughly before painting or any restoration work; if possible place in the sun to speed up the drying process.

Don’t wash the furniture down on a cool still day as the longer it takes to dry out the more chance there is of the furniture going mouldy.

Carefully assess the damage to the furniture and if there are any loose strands of rattan or cane just glue them back into place with Superglue.

If there are pieces of weave missing, replace with new material, usually available from a craft outlet.

Cut the old strands out back to good cane.

Measure a generous length of new material to fill the gap and soak in water for 30 – 45 minutes to soften; this makes it easier to weave.

Dry off any excess water and weave through the damaged section of furniture. Pull through with a fine-nosed pair of pliers.
When all the damaged sections are repaired glue down the ends.

If the furniture still looks a bit shabby you could always paint or varnish it or apply a coat of linseed oil.

All you need to do now is to buy new contemporary cushions or re-cover the old ones if the fillings are still serviceable and there you have ‘good as new’ conservatory furniture.

Whatapps (+65 90305057 , Vince ) you can speak directly to us or email: info(at)centrepiece.com.sg to discuss your order. We don’t have call centres or customer service departments, you speak directly to the people making your sofa.

Looking for rattan furnitre or reupholstery to change the look of your home? We will be able to assist you.

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Note: If you are a new customer, and you need the upholster to do home visit, a SGD $40 will apply. This is to prevent people who are not serious in getting upholstery services from driving the business cost up. This helps to cut wasted time and expenses in order to benefit our existing customers. However, this SGD $40 can be reimbursed if the job is confirmed upon deposit. For existing customers, fees may be waived. Cheers 🙂

For many people, they realize their furniture piece is still in great shape except for the fabric, and its quality construction has lasted longer than some of their newer pieces. Before manufacturers were forced to cut corners in quality with mass-produced furniture, they were built with better quality and materials and all together better workmanship.

Older pieces have coil springs and hardwood frames that are doweled and glued; today’s pieces have rubber straps or zigzag coils instead of spring coils, and staples are used on frames.

There are a few tricks to determining whether your piece is a candidate for reupholstering. First, its weight – if your sofa or chair is heavy, it’s probably well constructed. Another sign is the bottom. If it’s a solid webbed bottom, not a hollow bottom covered by a piece of fabric screening, then the piece probably has coil springs.

Today, many of the furniture manufacturer’s have had to lower their costs to produce the pieces of furniture to keep up with their competition, so you aren’t receiving quality that you would have received Even as recently as 10 years ago.

Call us or email: info(at)centrepiece.com.sg to discuss your order. By calling Vince, whatapps ( 90305057 ) you can speak direct to us, we don’t have call centres or customer service departments, you speak directly to the people making your sofa.

Looking for rattan furnitre or reuohlostery to change the look of your home? We will be able to assist you.

Stay Connected

Note: If you are a new customer, and you need the upholster to do home visit, a SGD $40 willl apply. This is to prevent people who are not serious in getting upholstery services from abusing the system which not only drive the business cost up, it will also be a waste of time and resources. However, this SGD $40 can be reimburse if the job is confirmed upon deposit. For existing customers, fees can be waived. Cheers 🙂

Occasionally, someone asks me:
“What is the difference between a $10,000 sofa and a $2,000 sofa or even a $1,000 sofa?”
Well, the latter is definitely massed-produced. However, the difference between the 10k and 2k usually has a lot to do with the name more than what’s inside it. This is true for a lot of things we buy. right?
I can’t tell you how many sofas and chairs I’ve sold in my career. All I know is that it’s hundreds. Most people buy maybe at most a dozen sofas in their entire lifetime, and some only one or two.
The sofa is the most expensive piece of upholstered furniture in the living room and it’s also the largest, of course. Therefore, careful consideration should be paid, but please don’t drive yourself crazy.

Quite frankly, if you stick to the manufacturers with good reps and quality, they’re all pretty nice. Ask around and see if you will to know Centrepiece furnishing Singapore.

TCS Designs makes my favorite settee. It is quite compact and yet just as comfortable as a full-sized sofa, so I’ve used it many times, when space is tight.

This is a Tuxedo Arm sofa which we did below for the Bronxville sun room with a skirt

The Lawson arm sofa is probably the most common basic style. In the 80’s the arms were really BIG sometimes. This version from Lee is updated yet still classic. The so-called “traditional sofa” is usually a version of this arm with a 7″ skirt.

A newer frame from CR Laine, the Huntley evokes a kind of Hollywood of the 1930s-type glamor to me.

This sofa from Lee is not only very beautiful, but feels totally luxurious and enveloping to sit in.

A classic leather Chesterfield. This became popular in men’s club houses in the early part of the 20th century. It’s distinctive large round arm is the same height as the back. It is usually tufted.

This is a custom-made Chesterfield I had made for a client in Scarsdale, NY 2 years ago.

The wedge sofa is a newer style. This version from Lee is a winner. There are other versions of this style which are also great, but I included the wedge, because I think that it’s kinda cool and would be great for watching TV.

CR Laine’s Chichester sofa is a new take on the classic Chesterfield sofa.